Getting out of theFundraising Funk

Leah Weiner, Ed. D.

Building Capacity ConsultingLeah Weiner, Ed. D.

Twitter: @leahleads leahweiner@gmail.com

Introductionso At your tables, share your name,

organization and what inspires you to do your work.

o 30-45 second intros

Building Capacity ConsultingLeah Weiner, Ed. D.

Twitter: @leahleads leahweiner@gmail.com

Objectives of the workshop

• Why its important to develop a strategy• Determine the most appropriate fundraising

strategies to pursue • Utilize a fund development planning toolkit to

implement your fundraising strategies• Learn from one another and share ideas

Building Capacity ConsultingLeah Weiner, Ed. D.

Twitter: @leahleads leahweiner@gmail.com

Activity

At your tables • One challenge: – Example: Building a donor base or increase

board member gifts • One strength: – Example: Gala raised $50,000 or 80% of board

members donated their $1,000 give or get.

Building CapacityMaximizing the effectiveness of nonprofits

Leah Weiner, Ed. D. leahweiner@gmail.com

Fund Development Planning Process

• Serves as a roadmap to help organizations achieve fundraising goals.

• Keep focus and avoid distractions. • The process of creating the plan is as

important as the actual plan. • The creation of development plan produces

ownership among staff and board, shared accountability and focus for your goal.

Creating a fundraising plan is a process

• A living breathing document that will change when you – Talk to board members, volunteers– Attending CNE Nonprofit Day– Meet with a donor that has a good idea– Read an interesting article or book– Having coffee with your colleague

• Don’t go into this thinking what you create is done and then put it on a shelf– Use it and talk about it with your key stakeholders

What to include in the plan?• Key points from your case statement that you want to highlight • Fundraising Strategies• Timelines • Financial Goals• Point People • Notes about specific events• Tasks and Activities • Board Roles • Staff Roles • Timing • Estimate Donation

The case statement

• A detailed rationale for a fundraising campaign designed for internal supporters and external supporters

• Internal: Board, staff, volunteers• External: Donors, potential prospects, foundations• Keep it simple – a few paragraphs • Answer the questions:

– What is our mission? – What do we offer that no one else does? – Why is what we are doing important?– Why do we need money?

Fundraising Sources• Individual Donations

– Annual Donors / End of the Year Campaign–Major Gift Donors – Planned Giving – Endowment – Capital Campaign

• Member Dues• Board Giving • Events • Foundation Funding• Government Grants • Corporate Sponsors

Annual Fund

• The building block for all fundraising – Direct mail– Individual Giving – End of the year campaign

• Why is it essential? – Develops a fundraising base– Operating dollars– Builds a pipeline of donors

• What to remember – Follow up – Engage those donor beyond just one time a year

End of the year campaignLos Angeles Review of Books

2013: $48, 459 2014: $117, 453

# of donors: 313 # of donors: 445 donors

Campaign roll out and touch points: • Launched on Giving Tuesday via social

media• Hard copy mailer • Promo every Sunday in the LARB

newsletter• Dedicated email blast on 12/30 and

12/31

Campaign roll out and touch points:• Silent campaign (two weeks) before Giving

Tuesday• Mailer sent to 400 donors

Press release announcing campaign • Personalized emails to 75 donors• Launched on GT via social media and e-

campaign Promo every Sunday in the LARB newsletter

• Dedicated emails on Tuesday in December• Personal phone calls to high capacity donors

the first two weeks of December• Hard copy postcard to all donors 12/18• Dedicated email blast on 12/30 and 12/31

Gifts: • 75% of the gifts were $150 and lower • 25% were above $150 • Largest gift was $25,000

No history of annual appeals?• Develop a first year plan that includes: – One or two direct mail appeals (spring and end of

the year). – Coordinate a volunteer phone blitz and call 20-30

people – Participate in giving Tuesday (develop 1-2

messages about your organization and promote on twitter, facebook and via your e-newsletter)

Already have a strong annual giving program?

• Aim for 18 or 24 touches a year (emails, phone calls, birthday cards, holiday cards, brochure in the mail, giving postcards, one-on-one meeting, direct mail appeal, etc.)

• Follow up with lapsed donors to ask how they are doing.

• Increase donation levels of current donors.– John, I noticed you gave $500 to our annual campaign

last year. Can you contribute $750 or $1000 this year?

Tips to make your Annual Campaign and End of the Year Fund Drive Stronger

• Have a soft launch for your end of the year campaign • Start your end of the year campaign by giving Tuesday • Strong collaboration between program staff, board and fundraising committee • Get a donor to match end of the year campaign gifts and promote this to your

donors! • Reinforce your annual appeal letter with an e-newsletter• Include photos and your organization’s colors/logos in your mail appeal letter• Provide a link for people to pay online, a phone number and buck slip in your

annual appeal letter• Include a P.S. – with a powerful statement – people’s eyes usually drift down to

the bottom of a letter• Handwrite a short note for a select group of donors • Thank the donor for their contribution last year and ask them to increase it by

$50 or $100• Follow up the letter with a phone call asking donors if they received your letter.

– Don’t have time? Ask a couple volunteers to call 10 people – provide them with a script

Activity• Annual Fund: – What is your organization currently doing to raise

money for your annual fund? – If you did an end of the year campaign, what worked

well and/or what could be improved? – What do you want to try in the next month or the next

three months?

Major Gifts

• A significant donation from a donor– $1,000 - $50,000

• Strengths– Significant funds– Unrestricted funds – Base of committed donors

• Challenges – Training for in-person solicitation and stewardship – Follow up – A base of donors

• Tips to build a major gifts program– Determine your organization’s threshold – Get to know what your donors are thinking – meet with them – Spend them time cultivating donors in a way that they want to be cultivated

Questions to ask at a major donor meeting

• “What would you like your gifts to accomplish?”• “How do you decide which projects to support with your own time

and money?”• “What are your top three charitable interests this year?”• “What gift did you make that has brought you the most joy?• “Could you ever see yourself supporting our organization?”• “How would you like to be involved in this end of the year

campaign/capital campaign?”• “What range of gift should we be talking about?”• “What would have to happen for you to say yes?”If they are ready to chat about a gift…• “May I draft a proposal for your review?”

Planned giving • What is it?

– A legacy gift– A gift given to a nonprofit organization after an individual passes

• Profile of the ideal planned giving donor – 65+ – Given 10 or more small ($10-$1,000) to medium ($5,000-

$15,000) size gifts– Demonstrated strong commitment to organization over past

several years• Can your institution support it?

– Pipeline of donors – Donors with strong affinity – Legal support to draft language and review gift agreements or

to work with donor’s financial advisors

Sample bequest language• "I hereby give to the University of Southern California, a California

not-for-profit corporation, with its principal place of business at Los Angeles, California: The sum of $________________ [amount] AND/OR The following described property: ________________ [description] AND/OR ____% [percent] of the residue of my estate to be used for ________________ [stated purpose] of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California."

Fundraising plan • All of these fundraising strategies require a plan of

action!• Purpose • What to include in your plan?• How does an organization choose the right strategy • Which individuals should be involved in the creating

the plan?

Who to involve in creating your fundraising plan

• Board • Staff • Volunteers• Fundraising Committee

Build your plan• Get your plan on paper • If you already have a working plan

then continue to brainstorm ways to build your pool of donors, increase donations and increase your touch points.

Sample Template

Sample Template Funding Source Your Organization’s Name:

Individual Donors Strategy(Notes and Steps)

End of the year campaign will have a soft launch starting in

mid-November.

Initiatives

End of the Year Postcard

Call high capacity donors

Board

Review overall fundraising plan

Staff

Major Donors($10K-20K)

Annual Donors(100 - $1,000)

Mid-Range Donors ($1,000 to $10K)

Sample Template

Activity

• What do you want to achieve next year?• How much do you need to raise to do what

you want to achieve? • How will you involved key stakeholders?

Fundraising Plan

• Follow up: – What will you do next week?– Next month?

Thank you and please contact me if you have any questions

Leah Weiner, Ed. DBuilding Capacity:

Maximizing the effectiveness of nonprofits303 Corona Street I Denver, CO I 80209

leahweiner@gmail.com310-497-5592